Living Environment and Intrinsic Capacity among Chinese Older Adults: A cross-sectional study

Background With the global aging population, intrinsic capacity has become a significant topic of interest. However, research on the relationship between intrinsic capacity and the living environment is limited. Methods This cross-sectional study included 6,408 individuals aged 60 and above from 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS). We used linear regression to examine the association between intrinsic capacity and the living environment, intrinsic capacity was measured for five dimensions: locomotion, sensory, vitality, psychological, and cognitive functions, living environment was measured for five dimensions: building type, water supply, household energy sources, outdoor PM2.5 levels and room temperature. Results Our research found that living environment was positively associated with intrinsic capacity (B = 0.069; CI = 0.049–0.090; p  < 0.001), indicating that optimizing living environmental conditions may benefit intrinsic capacity. Our findings emphasize the importance of improving living environments in promoting healthy aging.